ATOMIC ENERGY CENTRAL SCHOOL

ANUPURAM

2024-25

PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

STUDY OF INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION

CBSE PRACTICAL EXAM

AN INVESTIGATORY PROJECT BY
T.MUVANESHWAR

ROLL NO : 34
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that T.MUVANESHWAR of class XII-B
,
Atomic Energy Central School, Anupuram has
successfully completed the investigatory project in physics
on the topic “Study of Interference and Diffraction” under
my guidance during the academic year 2024- 2025 and
given a satisfactory account of it in this report file,
containing a record of his work.

SUBJECT TEACHER
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to express my deep gratitude and sincere thanks to
the Principal, Mr. C.N. SRINIVASA RAGHAVAN, for
his encouragement and for all the facilities that he
provided for this project work.

I extend my hearty thanks to Mrs. POOJA KUMARI (PGT

Physics), Physics teacher, who guided me to the successful
completion of this project. I take this opportunity to
express my deep sense of gratitude for his invaluable
guidance, constant encouragement, immense motivation,
which has sustained my efforts at all the stages of this
Project work.
I also thank the lab attendant VEERA RAGAVAN for his
assistance in the laboratory.
CONTENTS
A. Aim
B. Introduction
C. Introduction to Diffraction
1. What is Diffraction?
2. History of Diffraction
3. When Does Diffraction Occurs
D. Understanding diffraction
1. Mechanism
2. Types of Diffraction
a. Single-slit diffraction
b. Double Slit Diffraction
c. Diffraction Events
d. Diffraction and Interference
e. Examples and Applications of Diffraction
E. EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF DIFFRACTION
1. Aim
2. Apparatus
3. Procedure
4. Observations
5. Result
6. Precaution
F. Bibliography
Aim :
To study and demonstrate the phenomena of interference and
diffraction of light

Introduction :
In physics, interference and diffraction are fundamental phenomena
that demonstrate the wave nature of light. Interference occurs when two
or more light waves overlap, producing a new wave pattern based on the
principle of superposition. This can lead to regions of constructive
interference, where waves add up to create a bright fringe, and
destructive interference, where waves cancel each other out, resulting
in a dark fringe.

Introduction to Diffraction
A. What is Diffraction?
“Diffraction is a slight bending of light as it passes around the edge of an
object. The amount of bending depends on the relative size of the
wavelength of light to the size of the opening. If the opening is much
larger than the light’s wavelength, the bending will be almost
unnoticeable.”

Diffraction refers to various phenomena that occur when a wave

encounters an obstacle or a slit. It is defined as the bending of light
around the corners of an obstacle or aperture into the region of
geometrical shadow of the obstacle.

In classical physics, the diffraction phenomenon is described as the

interference of waves according to the Huygens-Fresnel principle. These
characteristic behaviors are exhibited when a wave encounters an
obstacle or a slit that is comparable in size to its
wavelength.Diffraction occurs with all waves, including sound waves, w
ater waves,and electromagnetic waves such as visible light, rays and
radio waves. If we look clearly at the shadow cast by an opaque object,
close to the region of geometrical shadow, there are alternate dark and
bright regions, just like in interference .This is just due to the
phenomenon of the diffraction, which is a general characteristic
exhibited by all types of the waves .Since wavelength of light is much
smaller than the dimensions of most of the obstacles, we do not generally
encounter the effects of diffraction of light in the everyday life
observations. However the finite resolution of our eye or of the optical
fiber instruments such as telescopes or microscopes is limited due to
the phenomenon of diffraction .Since physical objects have wave-like
properties, diffraction also occurs with matter and
can be studied according to the principles of quantum mechanics.
Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word "diffraction"
and was the first to record accurate observations of the phenomenon in
1660.
B. History of Diffraction
The effects of diffraction of light were first carefully observed and
characterized by Francesco Maria Grimaldi, who also coined the term
diffraction, from the Latin diffringere , 'to break into pieces', referring to
light breaking up into different directions .Isaac Newton studied these
effects and attributed them to inflexion of light rays. Thomas
Young performed an experiment in 1803 demonstrating interference
from two closely spaced slits. Explaining his results by interference of
the waves emanating from the two Different slits, he deduced that light
must propagate as waves.
C. When Does Diffraction Occurs
Diffraction occurs when waves encounter an obstacle or opening. The
effect is most noticeable when the wavelength of the wave is similar to
the size of the object or slit. If the object has multiple closely spaced
openings, a complex intensity pattern forms due to interference—the
combination of wave parts traveling different paths, resulting in varying
phases. Diffraction also describes how waves of finite extent spread out
as they propagate in free space.
Understanding diffraction
A. Mechanism
In traditional classical physics diffraction
arises because of the way in which waves
propagate; this is described by the
Huygens–Fresnel principle and the
principle of superposition of waves.
The propagation of a wave can be
visualized by considering every particle of the transmitted medium on a
wave front as a point source for a secondary spherical wave. The wave
displacement at any subsequent point is the sum of these secondary
waves. When waves are added together, their sum is determined by the
relative phases as well as the amplitudes of the individual waves so that
the summed amplitude of the waves can have any value between zero
and the sum of the individual amplitudes. Hence, diffraction patterns
usually have a series of maxima and minima.

B.Types of Diffraction

a)Single-slit diffraction:
A long slit of infinitesimal width which is illuminated by light diffracts
the light into a series of circular waves and the wave front which emerges
from the slit is a cylindrical wave of uniform intensity. A slit which is
wider than a wavelength produces interference effects in the space
downstream of the slit. These can be explained by assuming that the slit
behaves as though it has a large number of point sources spaced evenly
across the width of the slit. The analysis of this system is simplified if we
consider light of a single wavelength. If the incident light is coherent,
these sources all have the same phase. Light incident at a given point in
the space downstream of the slit is made up of contributions from each of
these point sources and if the relative phases of these contributions vary
by 2π or more, we may expect to find minima and maxima in the
diffracted light. Such phase differences are caused by differences in the
path lengths over which contributing rays reach the point from the slit.

When the double slit in young’s double slit experiment is replaced by a

single narrow slit illuminated by a monochromatic source, a
broad pattern with a central bright region is seen. On both sides there are
alternate bright and darkfringes and regions, the intensity becoming
weaker away from the centre.
We can find the angle at which a first minimum is obtained in the
diffracted light by the following reasoning. The light from a source
located at the top edge of the slit interferes destructively with a source
located at the middle of the slit, when the path difference between them
is equal to λ/2.
Similarly, the source just below the top of the slit will interfere
destructively with the source located just below the middle of the slit at
the same angle. Along the entire height of the slit, the condition for
destructive interference for the entire slit is the same as the condition for
destructive interference between two narrow slits a distance apart that is
half the width of the slit. If light consisted strictly of ordinary or classical
particle, and these particles were fired in a straight line through a slit and
allowed to strike a screen on the other side we would expect to see a
pattern corresponding to the size and shape of the slit. However when the
single slit experiment is actually performed the pattern on the screen is a
diffraction pattern in which the light is spread out. The smaller the slit,
the greater the angle of the spread.

b)Double Slit Diffraction

If light consisted of classical particles and we illuminated two parallel

slits, the expected pattern on screen simply be the sum of the two single
slit patterns. In reality however, the pattern changes to one with a series
of light and dark bands.

When this phenomenon was studied, it indicated that light

consists of waves as distribution of brightness can be explained by
the alternately constructive and destructive interference of wave
fronts.
The modern double-slit experiment is a demonstration that light and
matter can display characteristics of both classically defined wave
sand particles. A simpler form of the double-slit experiment was
performed originally by Thomas Young in 1801. He believed it
demonstrated that the wave theory of light was correct, the experiment in
which a wave is split into two separate waves that later combine into a
single wave. Changes in the path lengths of both waves result in a phase
shift, creating an interference pattern.

In the experiment, a coherent light source, such as a laser beam,

illuminates a plate with two parallel slits, and the light passing through
the slits is observed on a screen behind the plate. The wave nature of
light causes the light waves passing through the two slits to interfere,
producing bright and dark bands on the screen. However, the light is
always found to be absorbed at the screen at discrete points, as individual
particles (not waves), the interference pattern appearing via the varying
density of these particle hits on the screen Other entities, such as
electrons, are found to exhibit the same behavior when fired towards a
double slit. The experiment can be done with entities much larger than
electrons and photons, although it becomes more difficult as size
increases. The largest entities for which the double-slit experiment has
been performed were molecules that each comprised 810atoms, whose
total mass was over 10,000 atomic mass units.
The double slit experiment for its clarity in expressing the results of
quantum mechanics. Because it demonstrates the fundamental limitation
of the ability of the observer to predict experimental results, Richard
Feynman called it "a phenomenon which is impossible to explain.

c) Diffraction Events
The amount of bending which occurs is based on the wavelength of the
light or the objects size in relation to light's wavelength. In addition to
bending, light is sometimes broken into its basic components.
These components are the colors of the rainbow red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, indigo and violet (ROYGBIV).Red light has the longest
wavelength, while violet has the shortest. This is why red is typically the
prominent color in a rainbow and appears to be wider than violet light.

Full lunar eclipses permit light waves to bend around the edges of the
moon to let the side facing earth remain visible, albeit an orange- brown
color instead of the white color. This is due to the distance of the moon
from earth, allowing the moon to completely cover the sun.

d)Diffraction and Interference

Diffraction is the bending of waves around an obstacle, while
Interference is the meeting of two waves during the diffraction process
and usually happens when there are two or more slits. Interference of the
light waves with each other causes the diffracted light to become brighter
or dimmer during the diffraction process because of what we call
destructive and constructive interference. Also in diffraction and
interference, light energy is redistributed. If it reduces in one
region, producing a dark fringe, it increases in another region producing
a bright fringe. Hence there is no gain or loss of energy which is
consistent with the principle of conservation of Energy.
e) Examples and Applications of Diffraction
The effects of diffraction are often seen in everyday life.

i.The closely spaced tracks on a CD or DVD act as a diffraction

grating to form the familiar rainbow pattern seen when looking at a disc.

ii.This principle can be extended to engineer a grating with a structure

such that it will produce any diffraction pattern desired; the hologram on
a book is an example.

iii.Iridescent clouds are a diffraction phenomenon caused by small water

droplets or small ice crystals individually scattering light.

iv.The setting sun appears to be red because of the diffraction of light

from the dust particle in the atmosphere

v.DJ/ Party Lights, Diffraction glasses, for Fireworks, Light shows, 3d

movies, Lasers are based on diffraction.

vi.Twinkling stars are another example of diffraction of light. As light

from stars pass through the earth's atmosphere which is laden with water
vapor, the light bends around the water droplets causing the twinkling
effect. The light waves become brighter or dimmer and the colors
constantly change due to constructive and destructive interference.

vii.When light passes through solid objects like diamonds, it diffracts

giving diffraction patterns which depend upon the type, nature and shape
of the material.

Diffraction in the atmosphere by small particles can cause a bright ring to

be visible around a bright light source like the sun or the moon. A
shadow of a solid object, using light from a compact source, shows small
fringes near its edges. The speckle pattern which is observed when laser
light falls on an optically rough surface is also a diffraction phenomenon.
EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF DIFFRACTION

Single-Slit Diffraction Using Razor Blades

Aim: Experiment to study the phenomena of single slit diffraction.

Apparatus : Two Razor Blade, One glass electric Bulb, Filter, Black
Paper

Procedure:
a)Hold the two blades so that the edges are parallel and have a narrow
slit in between. This can be done easily with thumb and forefingers as
shown in figure, and cover them with black paper.

b)Keep the slit parallel to the filament of the bulb which plays the role of
first slit, right in front of eye.
c)Adjust the width of the slit and the parallelism of the edges
the pattern the pattern of light and dark bands is visible
.
d)As the position of the bands(except the central one) depends on the
wavelength, they will show some colours.

e)Use a filter for red and blue to make fringes clearer, Compare the
fringes.

Observations:
Since the position of all the bands depends on wavelength so they will
show some colour. More the wavelength, More they will diffract.

Result:
Fringes are wider for red compared to blue.

Precaution:
Protect your eyes by using spectacles while performing the experiment.
Don’t use sunlight instead of the bulb as sun also produces infrared rays
harmful to our eyes.

*By repeating the above experiment with aluminium foil we can easily
show double slitdiffraction.*
Bibliography
www.google.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.youtube.com